MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A group of Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping gambling bill that could authorize a state lottery and 10 casinos in the conservative Deep South state, while some Republicans plan to put the question before voters in November.
Alabama is one of the few states without a state lottery, after lawmakers rejected a proposal to allow one in 1999. And unlike neighboring Mississippi, the state has been resistant to full-fledged casinos with table games and slot machines. Lawmakers estimate the proposal could generate more than $800 million in annual revenue for the state.
If approved by three-fifths of lawmakers, the proposal will go to a vote for voters to decide.
“We believe people deserve the right to vote on this issue,” said Republican Rep. Andy Whitt, who led a group of lawmakers working on the bill.
The gambling bill, now backed by Republican Governor Kay Ivey, was one of several controversial measures put forward by lawmakers to start the legislative session. A committee advanced legislation that would make it a crime to return someone else’s ballot, a restriction Republican supporters said they wanted to implement before November’s presidential election.
A draft of the gambling legislation was circulated among lawmakers on Wednesday, and supporters said the bill could come up for a vote in committee and the House of Representatives next week, depending on support. Republican supporters of the bill will have to win votes from their own ranks and also win the votes of a significant number of Democratic lawmakers.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Republican Rep. Chris Blackshear, who will sponsor the bill, said of efforts to get the 63 votes needed to pass the bill in the Republican-dominated House.
Several lawmakers from both sides said they needed more time to review the bill before deciding how to vote.
Supporters presented the bill as a means to crack down on small electronic slot machines that have popped up in convenience stores and small gambling halls. The state has been embroiled in a protracted legal battle to shut down electronic bingo machines, which have swirling displays that make them resemble slot machines. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which are not under state jurisdiction, have three slot machine lookalike sites.
The proposed constitutional amendment would allow for a state lottery, seven new casino sites and sports betting and also authorize the governor to negotiate an agreement with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians that would allow the tribe to offer casino gaming at their three existing locations. The tribe could also offer such games at a new casino site in north Alabama that could attract customers from Tennessee and Georgia.
Lottery proceeds would go toward education programs such as scholarships for two-year community and technical colleges and dual enrollment. Casino and sports betting revenue would go into the general fund, where lawmakers would decide each year how to distribute it.
The controversial bill to implement restrictions on absentee ballots would make it a crime to deliver someone else’s completed ballot or distribute an absentee ballot application with someone else’s name pre-filled. It would be a crime to give and receive money for helping people vote absentee.
Supporters say the change is needed to combat voter fraud, but opponents say it would discourage absentee voting.
Republican Senator Garlan Gudger said the bill would stop bad actors from “stealing our elections.” Gudger said the bill was changed from the original version that sparked heated debate last year and would have largely banned any assistance with absentee ballots.
Democrats on the committee and opponents speaking at a public hearing questioned the bill’s necessity.
“This bill not only raises barriers, it destroys the bridge that connects disenfranchised citizens to their democratic right to vote,” said Tari Williams, who works with a Birmingham-based nonprofit that works with low-income people.
The same committee on Wednesday postponed a vote on legislation that would regulate which flags can be displayed off public property in Alabama. The bill listed certain flags, such as the American flag, state and city flags, and others that would be allowed. A Democratic lawmaker questioned the need for the bill and its wording that suggested flags from previous administrations would be allowed.
“Are we going to fly the Confederate flag everywhere? The Spanish flag?” asked Sen. Linda Coleman Madison, a Birmingham Democrat. “It seems like this opens a can of worms,” she added.